Hello all, I don't know if this is the appropriate forum for this but does anyone know of an airline that will allow small dogs (10-12 lb) in the cabin as carry-on luggage on flights from the US to Europe? So far I know American Airlines and United Airlines do not and Air France only allows dogs up to 4 kg. I cannot stand the thought of my little dog in the cargo bin! Help!

Swiss might. Drug the sucker, that's what my wife did.

by the way, yours sounds too big.

I flew over the end of Dec. on Swiss air and my dog came in the cabin with me. I flew Detroit-Chicago to Zurich. They told me that she could not come in the cabin in some interEurope flights. The requirements were that she and the bag not weigh more than 8 kilos, though I think she weighed a little more but no one batted an eye. There are required dimensions on the bag as well, but if you get an airline approved bag, you should be ok. She needed up to date shots, a microchip and a health certificate. She also needed to be confirmed on the flight. When we were booking my flight, we had a few issues finding an airline to take her. If you need any more info, let me know. The cost was $100 US but it should have been $120 each way, I got a lucky break.

Hey, thank you for the information. I'll definitely look into Swiss. Do dogs need a microchip to come to Switzerland? I thought that was just for the EU?

And, I probably will have to drug my little guy just to get him through the flight in the cabin. He's very sensitive and spoiled (but hey, I don't have kids, give me a break!)

From what I read on line, they need a microchip. I got one just to be safe. It was very simple for me and the dog. When I arrived in Zurich, they pulled me aside, looked at the paperwork for thirty seconds and let me go. I flew with the dog and a child and I did not drug my dog. She mostly slept, but when she was up, I let her stick her head out of the bag. I drugged her one time on a flight from Houston to Detroit and she turned into Kujo, almost chewing her way out of the bag. I would never drug her again. You should not have a problem with Swiss. Northwest will take the dog in the cabin but I would have had to fly into Amsterdam and she could not go in the cabin from Amsterdam to Zurich. Good luck, need any more info, just ask.

dogs need to be microchipped from 1st January 2007.

HI
Just in case you can't bring her into the main cabin, don't drug her. I know it's quite common but my vet told me never to do it. What happens when you drug them is that the sedation lowers their heart rate, and they sleep. However, when their heart rate lowers, so does their core temperature and it can cause problems when they are already put into a freezing luggage cabin. The animal can get too cold, have medical complications or even freeze. (Don't laugh! A dog acutally froze and EXPLODED two years ago on a North American flight from Europe. Eww.) You can give them something mild to calm them, but don't fully sedate them!

I've actually heard the thing about not sedating dogs while flying - especially if they're in the cargo hold. I was actually just kidding but I really appreciate the story of the dog going kujo and the one of the dog exploding to make me definitively not want to drug my dog! Most likely we'll take a red eye so he will probably just sleep as well. I might need to be sedated but that's another story - just as long as they don't put me in the cargo hold...

Thanks for the info about the microchip... I'll definitely take care of that. Its probably a good idea anyway...

Actually, on a similar note... Is $1700-$1900 per ticket for a one-way flight from US to Geneva typical? I'm looking at fares on Swiss and Lufthansa from Chicago to Geneva for our move since they are most likely to allow my little guy in the cabin. I'm used to seeing round trip fares almost that high in the summer but thought one-way would be a little less expensive... Any tips?

how much is a return ticket? You could always have a breakdown on the way to the airport for the return leg?

Hmmm... good thought. I knew I'd get some good ideas from this board!